12 Volt Television

[George n Mary]

I would like to hear from folks who have any experience with 12 volt televisions maybe with a DVD player. Currently we do not have a TV in the Scamp but may like to add one at some point. My thinking is that with everything else in the Scamp being 12 volt or propane why add an inverter for just one item.

[gordon2]

DVD? Whats that?... hahahahah (I went to only streaming and video files such as MP4 years ago).

As for TVs you will find some that have a simple power supply that plugs in the wall and then supplies 12 volts DC. So its simple to use it on 12 volts with a cable you can make up.. or some even come with one. The only caution is that the TV might or might not be able to tolerate the higher voltages that are present at different stages of battery charging. It could be around 13.7 volts or even a little over 14 if the charger or converter has a "equalization mode" (which it should if its a good one). And unless its marketed and sold as a 12 Volt RV ready TV.. then there is no way to know for sure. But many people use TVs that have a 120 VAC to 12 VDC power supply that ships with it, on 12 VDC alone in a camper.

I had one that did in fact come with a 12 volt cigarette lighter type plug in addition to the 120 VAC adapter / power supply. I left the 120 vac power supply at home and only used it on 12 VDC (until I dropped it).

[Jim Bennett]

I went with a 120V and use an inverter when we watch TV, something that is rare when camping. I have no issue with dying this at all, it works great.

I too would forgo a DVD player as it is now a thing of the past. I do have a wee portable I can connect to my laptop, but we have recently gotten rid of our disks.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Jim Bennett

I went with a 120V and use an inverter when we watch TV, ..

That can work of course.. but the double power conversion will mean more loss and faster drain on the battery.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by gordon2

That can work of course.. but the double power conversion will mean more loss and faster drain on the battery.

Yah, but if you don't watch it...

[SusanS]

I have considered a DC TV but I use a Roku with mine - mostly for watching hockey- long season this year. So I guess I would need an inverter for that anyway - oh yeah, not to mention WiFi or a hotspot. Yikes, am I camping??

Thanks guys for all the chat,

Susan

[Bob Penn]

I ended up with a 24" 120 VAC TV and I am using a 50 watt inverter to power the TV. I have 2 lithium batteries rated at 105 AH each and I have 230 watts of solar power. So power consumption for the TV is not a concern for me. However if you are not on solar and are using a single AGM battery, your options will be greatly limited.

With an AGM battery, you are pretty much limited to maximum 50 AH of use. Multiply the 50 times the voltage (12 VDC) and you have a maximum usable power of 600 watts. Divide the 600 watts by the power drain of your inverter/TV and you have the maximum number of hours of use. Don't forget to add the exhaust fan(s), laptops, cell phones, trailer lighting, etc. in those calculations.

While I do have a generator, my goal is not to have to use the generator.

I too, did not get a DVD player. There are several disadvantages of a DVD player. One, is the extra power drain on your DC system. Secondly, carrying the DVDs with you can use up valuable space. Camp sites tend to be dusty and DVDs do not work well with dust or dirt. Third, DVD players are mechanical in nature. This will become the weak point of your TV. While the TV may continue to work, a faulty DVD player becomes unneeded space and weight to your trailer.

I use 32 GB USB thumb drives plugged into the TV with about 6 to 8 movies on each USB drive. When using digital media, ensuring the TV will play your media format is a important consideration. There are a few DC powered TV's out there and they are very limited in their capability. If you want movies, you will need to be concerned with the ability of the TV to use USB inputs or other sources.

The other consideration is how long are you going to be watching TV. For me, one movie is the pretty much my limit. I am out camping to enjoy the outdoors and nature. Not spend all of my time closed up in front of the tube. Camping to me, is about getting away from technology, though I have to admit, I am a techno nerd. If you need entertainment for your children, then I can appreciate your potential need of the TV.

Why 32 GB thumb drives? You probably will not find any TVs smaller than 32 inches which are able to accommodate the larger USB drives. In my case, 32 GB is the largest thumb drive my TV will accept.

I have a 2019 17 foot Casita. The factory offered a 22 inch DC powered TV. I passed on it because of the TV's limitations and I happen to like a large screen. Unfortunately, the factory was probably right. My 24 inch TV is definitely pushing the space limits of my Casita. So much for large screens. Another option is a projection TV where you could set it up outside at night or project it on a wall in the RV. I don't know about their power requirements or ability to accept USB drives.

I wish you well in your efforts to add to your camping entertainment and enjoyment.

[Elphaba58]

I have a Tyler lcd tv. It runs on ac wall plug or dc cigarette lighter plug (both included) and has about 4 hour battery time when not plugged in. No dvd, but it had rca and hdmi inputs for just about anything.
https://www.amazon.com/Tyler-TTV705-.../dp/B07MC9KHK3

[herons]

We have a small 12V TV/DVD player. Works well in a 13' Scamp. Simply put the cover over the sink, pop some popcorn, and plug it in!

I still rent DVDs from the library. They are free and varied -documentaries, TV series, favorite old movies, etc. They'll be around long after I stop camping!

[Radar1]

We had a 12 volt TV with DVD in our Scamp, and it worked well, but we let it go with the Scamp when we sold it. We ordered our new Escape with the antenna and 12 volt outlet connection in case we want to add a TV and antenna in the future, but really haven't missed the TV so haven't ordered one yet.
We notice that in a lot of our campsites, we are more likely to have internet than TV reception, and have just been using our phones or streaming to our tablet. We have an app called "LOCAST" that costs about $5 per month to remove the extr ads, and that allows us to watch local channels from our hometown over the internet.
We also have Netflix and Amazon prime plus the ability to download movies while at home.
Not sure if we will ever get another TV for our Escape, we can move our tablet to wherever we are sitting.

[Borden]

We use a laptop with a 18.4" screen. It has a blue ray burner super multi drive. We can play anything. Also we can edit pictures at site.
Mostly board games, walk, take pictures, ride bikes, maybe fish or other out door fun.

[Keith2000]

We’ve gone the tablet route. It’s big enough and we usually are just watching a couple of shows at bedtime. I suppose if we had some awful weather we may watch more, but so far the tablet has made for a pretty good 13” TV while also being a good tablet.

Could use a better stand. We had a good stand, but then got a bigger tablet and it didn’t fit. Any ideas for stands for larger tablets would be appreciated.

[Wpgmini]

We purchased a Pyle TV/DVD combo from amazon. $200.
Great picture, so-so sound.

[Rockytop]

We have a 12 v TV with DVD. When we visit NPs or historic sites, we often buy their DVDs and watch them while we are there. We find ourselves watching movies at night frequently because excess campfire smoke, loud music, noise com overcrowded campsites, , and excessive decorative exterior lighting drives us inside. We have a collection of movies on an external hard drive that we use with a Roku and, when boondocking, power it with a Renogy Phoenix that can be charged with our solar panel or by plugging into our vehicle outlet when we are driving to trailheads or out sightseeing. ]

[Teddy]

Originally Posted by George n Mary

I would like to hear from folks who have any experience with 12 volt televisions maybe with a DVD player. Currently we do not have a TV in the Scamp but may like to add one at some point. My thinking is that with everything else in the Scamp being 12 volt or propane why add an inverter for just one item.

I have a 32" Samsung that uses DC power. It came with its own 14 volt DC brick to convert the AC power to DC voltage. I just made an adaptor with sufficient cable length to directly plug into the TV at one end and my RV's DC cigarette plug at the other end. I use this setup often as an alternative to AC wall power. Works great.

I agree with others who suggest foregoing an AC powered DVD player.
For the "hardly ever" occasions, I have a portable CD/DVD player that plugs directly into my notebook computer.

-Teddy

[IMJ in FLA]

Originally Posted by George n Mary

I would like to hear from folks who have any experience with 12 volt televisions maybe with a DVD player. Currently we do not have a TV in the Scamp but may like to add one at some point. My thinking is that with everything else in the Scamp being 12 volt or propane why add an inverter for just one item.

I have a small TV I picked up at a thrift store for $5. It came with a 110vac to 12vdc brick that I never use since one of my 12vdc cables fit just fine. It's nice to be able to watch local channels with it connected to the Kingjack antenna. In Tucson, I received 50+ channels. In the boonies of the FLA panhandle, I received 0 channels. I found a Sony DVD player with 110vac-to-12vdc brick at another thrift store, but I'm still on a quest for a Sony remote controller. Since the TV has an HDMI input port, I can also use it as a second head on my laptop. I store the TV in one of the overhead bins. It's nice to have broadcast TV as an option if bugging out during hurricane (or other) evacuation. That's something we missed while sheltering in place during the 2004 hurricanes.

[computerspook]

I have a 22 inch 12 volt TV in my 16 foot scamp. It also is a computer monitor. I do a lot of watching over the air. I have it on an arm mount that I then bolted in a corner of the back. Now I already had a plate of the outside to support a ham radio antenna So I just used that. I had to build a custom block of wood to level the mount. Then I have a way to secure it back when moving.

I also have a baytrail 12 volt Computer that is a thin client style. It is hooked to the computer and then I use a wireless keyboard and mouse for the computer.

Have been very happy with this and do use it alot

[THene1713]

Originally Posted by George n Mary

I would like to hear from folks who have any experience with 12 volt televisions maybe with a DVD player. Currently we do not have a TV in the Scamp but may like to add one at some point. My thinking is that with everything else in the Scamp being 12 volt or propane why add an inverter for just one item.

Recently discovered that my bedroom 12v/120v TV has a built-in DVD Player on the RH edge; have owned the now 20yo rig for 4-years, but just recently SAW that... I ADDED LABELS, LOL.. it is securely Mounted, and NOT clearly visible, (HATE that Black on black stuff they do today :-) but...

[redbarron55]

I have a Best Buy Insignia 24" TV DVD tv that is a 12 volt unit and has a plug in wall wart power supply.
When I installed I considered installing it with power from 12 volts, but I did not as most of out camping has shore power and our camper is all electric except for the tankless LP gas water heater on the tongue.
I am certain that it would work just fine from the 12 volt camper DC power system.
I also have a Dish Wally satellite receiver system and a Roku stick.
I just restarted a T-Mobile hot spot while we are spending time in our Scamp while our kids are staying in our house while theirs it being remodeled.
All in all it has worked out quite nice.

[George n Mary]

Just wanted to thank all of you for your input, it is greatly appreciated and we found it very insightful!